CYC on Red Sky

A little round down on the way down to Blossom Rock. I was on the high side which therefore became the low side and was sitting in water up to my waist :)

As a refresher - 

From Elise's Crew Manual

In a round down

These are less common but more damaging - the boat rounds in such a way that the pole 'punctures' the water and the boom may be stuck in a high position while the deck is vertical and the windward deck is under water. The boom may take a while before it decides to slam down. So keep your head down and an eye on the boom as while it is up in the air the situation is very precarious.

Since 2006, Elise has rounded down 3 times if I remember correctly.

 

1. Blow the foreguy out (so the pole can be let up and rest on the surface of the water)
2. Blow the vang out
   
3. Blow the main out

Do NOT ease the guy.

The boat should recover after that (once the main decides to jibe). If that is not enough, you can very slowly release a little bit of the spin sheet and if that is not enough, you can release the spinnaker halyard. Once you do recover, remember that the boat has effectively jibed so if you pole is still in one piece, it should be pulled across. Do not bring the main in again until you know that the spinnaker pole is out of harm's way. You can also detach the pole from the sail as soon as it is out of the water to release the load on it, float the spinnaker for a short while, wait for things to stabilize again and then put the pole back up. In general, round downs happen in fairly heavy winds so it should not be difficult to keep the kite full without a pole. This may also help prevent another round down...